Maidgethma Wonderfully offbeat film!

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

silkfunkydiva I had already sent off my application to volunteer with Sea Shepherd before I heard about Whale Wars. I decided it might be a good idea to get a heads up on exactly what these volunteer missions entail. I was slightly hesitant about watching footage of any actual killing,However the emphasis should definitely be on 'Wars' more than 'Whales'. Guerilla warfare,strategic planning and tactical manoeuvres all come into play as Sea Shepherd,armed with intelligence, helicopters,ships,and speedboats go in hot pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet in an effort to disrupt as much of their whaling activities with direct action ,moving as close to the line as possible without crossing it.They frequently put their lives in danger and risk the wrath of the hunters on board who are not afraid to defend their ships.Captain Paul Watson is usually one step ahead as he plans his next move and he and his crew stop at nothing to ensure the whalers are under constant attack often with serious consequences.Miss at your peril!

pro_crustes I can't rate this gripping show about a bunch of idiots talked into risking their lives so Paul Watson can get some air time, because it is great TV that no one should be watching. Capt. Watson says he prefers to use amateurs over professionals, because the former have more heart for the mission. What he leaves out is that the latter wouldn't make (I'm guessing) two-to-five life-threateningly stupid mistakes per day. None of his worthless tactics (glass bottles of smelly acid thrown at the whalers, ropes trailed across their bows to foul propellers, running intercept courses in his slower-than-the-target fragile ship) do diddly to stop the Japanese whalers, but the bumbling landlubbers he lets break, ground, or crack up many thousands of dollars of maritime gear are guaranteed to put on a good show. Very disturbingly, one gets the idea that Watson's preference for amateurs is due to the fact that they will ignorantly endanger their lives where professionals would just know better, and watching people almost kill themselves is something he thinks we'll all be eager to do.At first, their passion is endearing and their methods seem mildly Ghandi-esq. But, not long after the first time you watch, their monotone recitals of the shipboard party lines ("we only use non-violent means," "we're here for the whales," "we're ready to risk our lives for Paul- I mean, for the whales") start to sound like hypnotic mantras, giving way, eventually, to plain old whining. For example, when the Japanese return "fire" to the Sea Shepherds' glass bottles full of acid with metal nuts and bolts, the environmentalists complain that theirs was a "harmless" attack, while the Japanese are clearly out to do some personal injury. Frankly, the difference between being hit in the head with a thumb-sized bolt and a glass bottle full of liquid is lost on me. Likewise their insistence that fouling the prop on a single-screw ship in antarctic waters is "non-violent" seems pathetically naive. If the Japanese can't clear their propeller, any disabled ship's crew will have to transfer to another craft, over water so cold it kills by hypothermia in minutes. Yet, when circled by Japanese ships so the factory craft can escape, the Sea Shepherds suddenly grow acutely aware of how dangerous any hazard to navigation can be in the far southern ocean.Watching these knuckleheads capsize boats, knock off outboard props, lose their way, nearly run out of water, oil, and fuel, and commit every other possible screw-up with the millions of dollars' worth of toys apparently bought for them entirely by television celebrities is fun for a while. But only until you realize that the one man on board who knows what he's doing never takes any of those risks himself, happily standing firm at the helm, while a passionate crew of Keystone Kops insures his real purpose: to get himself on TV.A Twitter post said it well, "If these guys are their best hope, the whales should start voluntarily swimming towards the Japanese." Sad fact is, saving the whales is neither Watson's purpose, nor is it the act of saving this show most demands. What needs saving is Watson's crew and, if we have any integrity at all, we'll do our part and e-mail Animal Planet that we've decided to watch something else.

unarob Separating politics from the show is a critical first step to deciding whether this show is watchable or not. Whether you want to slaughter every living thing on the planet and eat it, or whether you don't think humans should kill anything and absorb our nutrition out of the air is irrelevant to the quality...That being said...Does the show entertain: yes. God knows each time those guys and gals do something you are just waiting for one of them to screw up. These people are not professionals and their lack of training is beyond apparent. Also you have the disconnection between the captain and reality. Everything that happens (including every misstep) is spun into a positive happy message... and the show allows the knife of the camera to cut right through the bull. At the same time you also get to see the world from THEIR perspective.The show is NOT about whaling... the show is about these guys and gals behavior in an very strange situation. THAT is what documentaries are about... and this show is done well....

youAreCrazyDude Previous comment of this movie bashed the Captain and his crew and the Movie, too. Sure, we must listen to both negative and positive comments. But the details of the movie become irrelevant if we look at the broader picture: how the Animals become extinct, how the Animals have no way of defending themselves against evil human technology and its byproducts: fishing lines, overfishing, drag-netting thousands of years of corral riff beds into thousand year ocean deserts, etc. Regardless of "humorous" film details, "inexperienced crew", "veggies", "idealism", "nothing but the power of hope", "suicidal", But think about it: if not the Sea Shepperd, with their "nothing but the power of hope", then WHO will inform the world and keep the world AWARE of the very sensitive balance of the Nature the humans can destroy? Yes, it might take some "ego bolstering", "getting attention to set themselves up as martyrs", etc, but in this case THE MEANS WELL JUSTIFY THE ENDS: the end result is that the World is AWARE of the fine and very sensitive balance that Humans can destroy at will. It does not matter how we engage the viewer - as long as we achieve the very much needed RESULT - AWARENESS.